Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale: Bisping vs. Miller Preview

Okay BetUS mixed martial arts betting enthusiasts, the UFC will take center stage once again with this weekend when two veteran MMA bangers take to the octagon for the quickly-approaching finale for season 14 of the struggling television series The Ultimate Fighter.

TUF head coaches Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Michael Bisping will look to bring some pizzazz back to TUF when they square off in the main event of “The Ultimate Fighter 14″ Finale on Saturday at 8:00 PM ET, live from The Pearl at The Palms Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas on Spike TV.

With that said, let’s take a look at the odds and fighters in this matchup before I move on to offer up my expert MMA betting analysis and free TUF Finale free pick.

Breakdown: MMA veteran Jim Miller will make his UFC debut in this bout, but comes in riding a solid two-fight winning streak that includes an impressive first round submission (triangle choke) over Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 16 in September of 2010.

Miller is a Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist that generally uses an unpredictable ‘wild man’ fighting style to baffle his opponents more often than not.

Miller’s lack of technical fighting skills has been more of a plus than a hindrance as he attacks with everything from straight punches and up-kicks to spinning back fists and vastly underrated submissions.

Miller has recorded a half-dozen KO wins in his career, 14 via submission and four by way of decision while also losing five decisions and suffering one KO and submission apiece.

Breakdown: Michael Bisping has been on the cusp of greatness in the UFC for years but just hasn’t been able to take down the huge ‘big name’ opponent when he’s really needed to.

Still, the British-born banger has won three straight fights including his second round TKO (punches) win over Jorge Rivera at UFC 127 in February. The outcome of the bout was an extremely controversial one with Bisping landing an illegal knee on Rivera and then spitting in his corner’s direction once the fight was over.

Bisping specializes in boxing, wrestling and Muay Thai and has won 13 fights by KO with an identical four wins coming by way of decision and submission. Bisping has also been knocked out once while suffering two career decision losses.

Bisping is an all-around type of fighter that uses a multi-faceted skill set and some smart thinking to generally beat his opponents with a flurry of overpowering punches.

“I’m going to do everything I can to smash Bisping,” Miller told reporters recently, but Bisping, the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 3.” Way back in 2006, clearly doesn’t feel the same way.

“‘Mayhem’ thinks he’s coming into the UFC and he’s going to make a name on my back,” Bisping said. “He’s definitely insane if that’s what he thinks.”

In order for Jim Miller to win this fight, he’s clearly going to have to make this fight last the distance in my estimation.

Miller will need to turn this fight into more of a wrestling match and not a stand-up slugfest against a guy he can’t beat at that kind of fight. Miller will need to get in close and get Bisping in some clinches before going for one of his patented takedowns.

However, I just don’t see that happening against a disciplined Michael Bisping that has been in the octagon against some of the biggest names in mixed martial arts. Bisping’s three career losses have come against widely-respected MMA fighters, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans, so that tells me that Jim Miller is going to have to put on one heck of a first-class performance in order to take Bisping out in this fight.

Miller isn’t a very highly-regarded stand-up fighter and I expect Michael Bisping to be very aggressive in this aspect of the fight with his stick-and-move boxing tactics.

Jason Miller also hasn’t fought very often recently and I’m fairly certain that the long layoff is going to come back to haunt him in this prime time matchup.

In the end, I say Michael Bisping wins this fight – and war of words – via unanimous decision to earn a likely shot at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

TUF 14 Pick: Michael Bisping via Unanimous decision

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